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Av Afsaneh Oskoueinejad - 20 november 2010 14:19

Post-election protester in poor mental and physical condition in prison

Ayub Qanbarpourian, who was arrested after the elections, is in very poor mental and physical condition in prison but the Tehran Prosecutor and prison officials have refused to grant him a leave from prison.

He has been detained for more than a year and has been only able to see his family a few times because they live in another town and cannot easily come to Tehran.

He was sentenced to five years of prison after months of being kept in a state of limbo in cellblocks 350 and 209 in Evin Prison.

This 20 year old political prisoner is from Koh Dasht Village in Lorestan and worked as a construction worker in Tehran. He was arrested for participating in the peaceful demonstrations in protest to election results.

Qanbarpourian supported his family after he lost his father and his family has been facing financial hardships in the past few months.

He is currently detained in cellblock 350 in Evin along with many other political prisoners. His family and fellow prisoners are severely concerned for his mental and physical condition to the point that everyday, a number of political prisoners in this cellblock take the responsibility of looking out for him in prison. (Saham News – Nov. 17, 2010)

Iran arrests cleric

According to reports, on Monday November 16, security forces raided the home of Allah Verdi Rohi and arrested him and one of his relative identified as Hamid. These forces searched his home and seized some of his personal belongings such as his computer. It is still not clear where these two are being kept. His family and relatives have pursued the reason behind their arrest but have not been given any information as yet. Raids by security forces to the homes of political and human rights activists especially in the weeks leading up to Student Day (December 7) has become prevalent in Iran. (Center in Defense of the Families of those Slain and Detained – Nov. 17, 2010)

Iran arrests former female political prisoner

http://hrdai.blogspot.com/2010/11/60.html

According to reports, Mehri Javan Mahjoub, who was a former political prisoner in the 80’s and is the wife of political prisoner Abedi Ba Khoda was arrested yesterday and taken to the Lakan Prison in Rasht.

Mahjoub Doust, 52, was summoned to the 4^th branch of the Revolutionary Court on Tuesday November 16 and was interrogated for a prolonged amount of time for having a computer and satellite receiver in her home and for describing her husband’s condition to the international media and human rights organizations. A 50 million toman (50,000 dollar) bail order was then issued for her. She was only given 2 hours to provide the bail money and she said that she could not afford to pay this amount stressing that she had not committed any crime for which she would have to pay bail for.

Mahjoub Doust was kept in Police Station number 5 in Rasht until 7 pm and was subsequently transferred to the Lakan Prison in Rasht without being officially convicted.

Before this, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence had raided her home and seized some of their personal belongings.

Mahjoub Doust is suffering from numerous physical ailments such as heart problems, arthritis and migraines.

She was the caretaker of her husband, Abedi Bakhoda who was on a medical leave from prison to receive surgery and was hospitalized at home. She was responsible for most of his nursing including giving him injections. Abedi Bakhoda was shot in the spinal cord in the 80’s when security forces were trying to arrest him and has become crippled. He is confined to a wheelchair and cannot move. Security forces have arbitrary and illegally arrested Mahjoub Doust to put more pressure on this family, especially her husband. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran – Nov. 17, 2010)

Political prisoner to be hanged in Orumieh

http://www.hra-news5.info/component/content/article/55-1389-01-14-13-18-46/5199-1.html

The Supreme Court asked that political prisoner Hossein Khezri be executed in a letter to the 9^th branch of the Revolutionary Court in Orumieh.

According to reports, this letter which was seen by Hossein Khezri’s lawyer was the last legal way for Khezri’s execution to be revoked. His lawyer also suspiciously resigned as his lawyer after seeing this letter.

Notably, the 9^th branch of the Sentence Implementation Unit in the Orumieh Court has sent the case of this death row political prisoner to the Prosecutor, and his death sentence will be carried out after the prosecutor agrees to it. (Human Rights Activists in Iran – Nov. 17, 2010)

Religious freedom deteriorates in Iran: US

The US government said Wednesday that respect for religious freedom deteriorated in Afghanistan and Iran while China and Indonesia earned mixed scorecards.

In its report on international religious freedom for the last year, the US State Department also raised sharp complaints about Myanmar and North Korea as well as US allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia…

The report said 'government respect for religious freedom continued to deteriorate in Iran, with which the US government is locked in a showdown over its nuclear ambitions and human rights.

‘The government severely restricted freedom of religion and reports of government imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs continued during the reporting period,' the report said.

Iranian Muslims who were not from the majority Shiite group faced 'substantial societal discrimination,' it said.

‘And government rhetoric and actions created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shia religious groups, most notably Bahais, as well as Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, members of the Jewish community,' it said. (AFP - Nov 17, 2010)

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Female prisoners still under pressure in Evin Prison i Iran

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Av Afsaneh Oskoueinejad - 18 november 2010 14:49

Female prisoners still under pressure in Evin Prison’s methadone cellblock for giving out political statement from prison

According to reports, female political prisoners who were transferred to the methadone cellblock in Evin Prison on November 7 after phone lines in their previous cellblock were cut off are still kept under inhumane conditions. They are confined to a small space and since their transfer have been banned from going out for fresh air in the prison yard or using the cultural hall.

Female political prisoners were told that the reason behind their transfer to methadone cellblock (used for addicted prisoners) was a statement which was issued by a number of female prisoners when political prisoner Hengameh Shahidi was granted a leave from prison.

Currently, there are only 18 female prisoners in the female section in Evin Prison. Some of these prisoners are Nazila Dashti, Atefeh Nabavi, Mahdieh Golro, Farah Vazehan, Alieh Eqdam Doust, Bahareh Hedayat, Parvin Javadzadeh, Reihaneh Haj Ibrahimi and Zahra Bahrami. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran – Nov. 16, 2010)

Iran forces Ashtiani, son and lawyer to make false confession on state TV

Iranian state television has broadcast a purported statement by an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in which she calls herself a 'sinner’.

The stoning sentence against the 43-year-old Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has been put on hold and is now being reviewed by Iran's supreme court, but she still faces a possible death sentence by other means.

The outcry over the case is one of the latest thorns in Iran's relationship with the international community, as the U.S., EU and international human rights groups have urged Tehran to stay the execution.

A woman identified as Ashtiani said in the state TV report shown Monday: 'I am a sinner.' Her face was blurred and her words were voiced over in what the TV report said was a translation into Farsi from Azeri Turkish, which is spoken in parts of Iran.

The report also broadcast purported statements by two men whose faces were blurred that state TV identified as Ashtiani's son, Sajjad Qaderzadeh, and her lawyer, Houtan Kian, both of whom were arrested last month. It also aired comments from two Germans who were detained allegedly while trying to interview Ashtiani's family in October…

The broadcast of the purported statements appeared to be an attempt by Tehran to deflect international criticism of the case and focus attention instead on the West by accusing it of stirring up controversy over the case to damage the reputation of Iran's Islamic leadership. (AP – Nov. 15, 2010)